A little concern of my Brachypelma klaasi

[BoyFromLA]

This is Brachypelma klaasi, about three inches size, very last molt on 06/18/2021.

I did not notice this up until today, since I do not recall any external damages done right after molt, it must’ve happened / occurred / developed fairly recently.

I personally never experienced / saw this type of damages previously, I am curious / concerned / interested to know what is really going on with this tarantula.







As you can see, damage is done where Chelicerae is, and it’s not something regenerated from last molt, because there was no previous damage done what so ever.

The tarantula is very active / energetic currently.

Has anyone have any ideas / insights / answers for this matter?

Thank you in advance.

 

[joossa]

I saw something just like this on Reddit not too long ago. See link below. Someone said that the new exoskeleton in that area did not separate correctly and was ripped off with the old exoskeleton during the molt.

Have you confirmed if she has a fang on the affected side?


https://www.reddit.com/r/tarantulas/comments/n2zfco

 

[BoyFromLA]

Have you confirmed if she has a fang on the affected side?

I have not, but now I am very curious.

The answer is no, but the other fang is.

 

[Tarantuland]

Has it been eating? Best of luck

 

[BoyFromLA]

Has it been eating? Best of luck

Yes, and very well. More the reason why I did not notice this up until now.

 

[joossa]

Yes, and very well. More the reason why I did not notice this up until now.

What have you been feeding her? And prey items with a hard exoskeleton?

Also, is there something in the enclosure that she could have gotten her fang stuck in and then torn off? Like a screen lid or vents on the side or lid?

If you are sure she did not have the injury right after molt, then the fang must have broken or torn off afterwards resulting in what you are seeing now.

 

[BoyFromLA]

What have you been feeding her? And prey items with a hard exoskeleton?

Mostly small red runner roaches, and small dubia roaches, which never caused any problems with my other tarantulas for years.

Also, is there something in the enclosure that she could have gotten her fang stuck in and then torn off? Like a screen lid or vents on the side or lid?

It’s in clear acrylic enclosure, where there is no such things to harm tarantula in any circumstances.

If you are sure she did not have the injury right after molt, then the fang must have broken or torn off afterwards resulting in what you are seeing now.

Either way, I am just hoping it will be somewhat recovered next molt.

 

[joossa]

It should be fine since it will still be able to eat. Best wishes!

 

[Smotzer]

I have not not seen this before, but if it is eating that is a good sign and makes it less worrisome. Hopefully it molts out of the issue sooner rather than later!

 

[viper69]

Very odd

 

[LucN]

First time I see something like this. That is really weird. Hopefully, your klaasi will be back to normal with the next molt. Would be a shame to lose such a beautiful T. Good luck.

 

[BoyFromLA]

It is still very healthy, and is very active, and is eating well. There is not a single problem / issue I can find otherwise.

Once it molts, and only by then I will know for sure if this can be recovered or not, and still I have no idea how it got hurt. It’s the mystery.

View attachment trim.FA55F405-AE91-4604-A490-88A92E8D6221.mp4

 

[joossa]

Beauty! Looks like she likes to fill her bowl with sub!

 

[Kibosh]

Most T's can survive with one fang. It should grow back. Would also love to know what caused that. Maybe it was a bad molt and it just couldn't get it off till well after the molt?

Glad it is thriving.

Beauty! Looks like she likes to fill her bowl with sub!

All my desert terrestrials do this regardless of genus. Like they are saying "Ew what's all this water doing here?"

 

[BoyFromLA]

A little update to this:

It has not molted yet, but hopefully soon, judging by the size of it’s abdomen. Surprisingly it is still eating like champ.





Like I previously mentioned, it has no issue at all while hunting, eating. Nevertheless, I want it to fully recover once it molts, in time.

 

[8 legged]

It looks like only the top layer of the fang is missing. Good this way!

 

[joossa]

She's certainly gained a lot of weight.

 

[LucN]

Somebody likes to eat Hopefully, all that extra food will go in to fully heal that fang/chelicera once she does molt. Best of luck

 

[starlight_kitsune]

I'm glad to see her still doing good, that other post with the bad molt on the abdomen had me wondering how she was doing.

 

[BoyFromLA]

UPDATE

It took eleven months. Today, Brachypelma klaasi finally molted, and molted well. I’ve been eagerly anticipating for this moment to see whether it’s going to recover from the damage fully or not.





From the look of it, the damage was not fully recovered, but it surely did recovered much of it. I am certain within one more molt cycle, it will be fully recovered.